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Francis Fighting For Starting Spot

By: Adam Jardy

The Columbus Dispatch - February 22, 2012 02:08 PM

With all of 18 games of Major League Soccer experience under his belt, Shaun Francis currently
sits as the Crew’s top option at left back. With the start of the regular season now 17 days away,
the 25-year-old defender is aiming to hold onto his spot as the front office continues to look for
more players to challenge him and build depth at the position.

During the team’s preseason training, Francis said he has had one key goal: stay healthy. He
missed the first six weeks of his freshman season with a sprained ankle and then was sidelined for
all but six games last season with injuries to his hamstring and groin.

“Last year I missed almost the entire season,” he said. “That’s the first thing right now, to
stay healthy so when the season starts I’m fine. I need to go out there and prove to the coaches
and prove to myself that I should be the one playing.”

The Crew’s depth at the position took a big hit when the team left Josh Gardner unprotected in
the expansion draft and he was nabbed by Montreal with the seventh pick. Last season, he saw action
in 22 games – 21 starts – and contributed two goals and two assists.

Francis said he feels he can be an offensive asset to the club. He has recorded one assist
during his professional career.

“I’m a good defender and I’m also good as an attacker,” he said. “Before coming to the States I
was a midfielder and a defender. That aspect of the game, I know I can help the team with. I’m a
very good crosser with the ball and I have a lot of speed. In this league it’s very important to be
able to be quick and physical. I can bring all that to the table.”

A native of Jamaica, Francis said he moved to the United States to attend college. At Lindsey
Wilson College, Francis scored seven goals and had nine assists in 61 appearances in three years
before being selected by the Crew in the fourth round of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft.

It was during his final years of high school in Jamaica that he began playing defense.

“Basically I was told in the type of system that soccer is using right now a lot of midfielders
have been turned into left back players,” he said. “As one of those players, I feel like I’m still
able to play as a midfielder but I prefer to play on defense and move forward to help the attack.”&
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While training in Florida, the Crew brought in a pair of trialists to compete with Francis at
left back but neither is currently with the club. Both Lance Laing and Kasali Casal are currently
training with Real Salt Lake.

“We’ll bring in some other players at that position,” coach Robert Warzycha said. “We still have
contact with them in case we decide to bring them in. We’ll bring in one or two players,
definitely.”

Further thinning the numbers is the loss of Rich Balchan for the foreseeable future. The
second-year player will fly to California on Sunday for a second opinion on his sports hernia and
surgery is a possibility.

“It would be nice to have competition,” Warzycha said. “That’s why I’m looking for a left back,
but that doesn’t mean Shaun Francis isn’t going to be a starter. That means there’s going to be
competition at that position and he’s going to have to win it to be on the field.”

Francis said he feels that pressure to win the spot.

“There is always pressure because to me, any player can play any position,” he said. “There’s
definitely players on the team who can play that position so there’s pressure to make sure you go
out and perform each time.

“It motivates you to go out and give even more. You’re never comfortable in a position like that
so you have to go out and perform each time you get a chance to play.”